Inclusive language in academic environments: Theory and practice

Research objectives: This case study aims to describe different modalities of inclusive language, i.e., gender-balanced, gender-sensitive, or gender-neutral language, which are used in the official communication of Comenius University Bratislava. We link these modalities with the results of an online survey carried out in August 2024, which showed how native Slovak speakers perceive inclusive alternatives for generic masculine nouns. Research method: A critical text analysis was performed on online statements of the faculty members of Comenius University Bratislava and the online survey on inclusive language. Process of argumentation: In the past decade, gender-sensitive or inclusive language has permeated the communication of many actors in civil society, be it the media, public institutions, or various associations. It reflects the post-structuralist idea that language is a tool of power and makes women invisible, especially in professional life and various other roles. In Romance and Slavic languages, the “invisibilization” is caused by generic masculine nouns. The implementation of forms other than the generic masculine is based on psycholinguistic research (mainly in the German language). According to these researchers, this leads to women becoming invisible in the language. Comenius University Bratislava adopted a gender equality plan, financed by EU-funded programs. The use of inclusive or gender-sensitive language is a part of this action plan. Research findings and their impact on the development of educational sciences: The critical analysis of online statements of Comenius University Bratislava and its faculty members shows that only in the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Pedagogy is gender-sensitive language systematically used (doublets or neuter nouns). The main information channel of the University and the profile of the Faculty of Law almost never apply inclusive language. The online survey which was carried out in August 2024 shows that the majority of Slovak native speakers consider the variants of gender-sensitive language (both lexical and graphical) to be strange and redundant. Conclusions and/or recommendations: According to the survey, the generic masculine form is perceived by the majority of Slovak native speakers as a neutral form which denotes both genders. These findings could be correlated with the use of inclusive language (especially split forms) in statements on the social networks of different faculties of Comenius University Bratislava. The reasons for this situation could be the fact that the administrators who author the content are not informed about the action plan adopted at the university level (about the use of inclusive or gender-balanced language) and continue to use the classical generic masculine forms of nouns because the split form bears the characteristics of non-conventionality. A major shift in the use of gender-sensitive language could be enacted by a top-down approach in academia, but this will not solve the practical questions related to its functionality in the stylistics of the Slovak language.